Based on the children's book by Philip Pullman, Laurie Lynd's I Was a Rat is a feature-length fable originally made as a three-part BBC miniseries. A reworking of a popular fairy tale, the story opens with a young abandoned pageboy (Calum Worthy) taken in by a childless couple: the aging cobbler Bob (
Tom Conti) and domestic worker Joan (
Brenda Fricker). Nicknamed Roger, the pageboy claims that he isn't human at all but a rat, which attracts the interest of the Daily Scourge newspaper, a mad scientist, and a carnival owner named Oliver Tapscrew (
Don McKellar). The search for Roger's real home is accompanied by the story of Lady Aurelia (Katie Blake) and her prince (James Millard). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide